Princess for Hire

Princess for Hire is a wonderful cute and charming read with a really interesting premise. The novel centers on Desi who wants more from life than what she has been given. She dreams of being noticed for the right reasons, and not just because she wears an animal costume for the local pet store. Thankfully for her, she gets a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of an elite group of young ladies who fill in for princesses when they need a break. Tweens and younger adults will easily relate to Desi and her awkwardness. She is a fascinating character full of spunk and can be quite humorous at times. I loved reading about often silly situations that she found herself in, and found myself rooting for her in those instances when she stood up for herself. While I do not think that older readers will get much out this adorable novel other than it being an enjoyable read, I believe that younger readers can gain much from the positive messages that Leavitt explores. I throughly enjoyed this novel, and cannot wait to see more from this author and her series. This novel is recommended for readers who enjoy novels such as The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot.

This book was a pleasant change from all the YA I've been reading lately. Saying this, it wasn't what I had expected. This was a quirky, funny, read about a young girl who is struggling with her 13-year-old self. What girl can't relate to that? Desi is unhappy with just about everything in her life... school, her job, her family and friends. Then she stumbles across an ad for a substitute princess. She gets the job which is the start of several (mis)adventures in which she tries to help or impact the princess' lives. In doing so, she learns several important life lessons and realizes that even princesses have things that they want to escape from. Desi has a good heart and a her desire to do good totally won me over. This is a wonderful book for tweens, but can be enjoyed by young and old. Can't wait for Book II.

In PRINCESS FOR HIRE, Desi Bascomb's dream of making a difference comes true - with the added bonus of getting to be a real princess, if only temporarily. Her new job is to be a substitute princess for real princesses who want a time-out from their royal positions. What a fun job, right? But Desi soon learns that it's not all tiaras and party dresses, but that these princesses have real life problems. Let me start off by saying that I am totally one of those girls (okay, women) who always wanted to be a princess and had daydreams about it. So when I read the summary of PRINCESS FOR HIRE, I knew I wanted to read it. While I was reading this book, I kept thinking that I could totally see this being turned into a movie. And since it is published by Disney Hyperion, I can still see that happening. I think that this is definitely more of a pre-teen book than the titles I normally read, but it was a nice escape from some of the darker stories I have been reading lately. Desi seems like a normal teenager. And like most girls, she jumped at the chance to be a princess, even if it was just subbing. While I liked the characters that Desi had to sub for, I feel that there could have been more depth to the plot. I feel like it just skims the surface of the princesses that Desi is standing in for and that more could be added to that part of the story. Overall, though, this is a quick, cute read - and I will be reading the next book in the series when it comes out. Reviewed by: Andrea

I'm neither female nor a teenager. So how come I liked this book? Because it's funny, plays for both teens and grownups, and it makes me feel good. Just don't tell my friends that I read and loved a pink book.

Tradtionally, I am not very big on reading books that contain any type of "magical" powers. However, I was totally intrigued by this book from the first time I read the brief description AND I loved, loved the beautiful and eye catching pink cover. So, I thought I would give it a shot and try it. I am so happy that I did. First of all, where this story could have been incredibly corny, author Lindsey Leavitt manages to detour this by making this novel absolutely hilarious and touching and absolutely enchanting. Our main character Desi is pretty bored of her everyday life - will she ever really get to live and maybe make it to the "big city"? Well, Desi is about to discover what the saying "watch what you ask for" really means. For some reason, when Desi applies "Royal Rouge" - which is an ancient formula from Egypt - she can instantly become (physically anyway) any princess in the world - therefore making her the perfect substitute for all the princesses out there who don't want to or can't attend/commit or do something that they should be doing. Wow! a dream come true. Desi will get to "be" someone glamourous and wear beautiful clothes. However, the reality is far from so romantic and perfect. Desi will come to realize that perhaps her regular life with her regular friends may not be that bad. Apparently, the grass really isn't all that greener on the other side. Yes, while there is a lesson being learnt here (and I, for one, keep forgetting that the other side of anything is not always better) it is done with such humour and grace that the whole storyline just flows beautifully. There is romance, love, humour and a touch of "snide" that is perfect. This novel has found a perfect tone and I loved it.